TEST DAY – LE MANS 24 HOURS 2013 – A GOOD DAY FOR THE ALPINE A450 AND NELSON PANCIATICI

The Test Day was the occasion when Nelson Panciatici, long time holder of the best time in LMP2, finally finished second at the wheel of his Alpine A450! The track remained damp for a good part of the day but the Signatech-Alpine team still managed to test all the important items on their program. Nelson Panciatici is satisfied with his day of tests although he remains cautious: “Our test day went well, we’re still at the top of the ranking and that’s on wet and dry tracks. We were able to test two types of tyres when the track was dry. The aim was not to go for performance so this second best time is promising for the future. I think we’re going to be very fast right from the start of the qualifiers! My co-drivers, Pierre Ragues and Tristan Gommendy have lots of Le Mans experience and I turn to them to improve myself. We’ve got to stay grounded for this extremely difficult race. The Alpine A450 is very sound, our Michelin tyres are high performance and long-lasting, I really can’t wait to get to the race!”“We were able to validate our new aerodynamic features for ‘Le Mans’, even though the weather wasn’t very good,” Philippe Sinault, the boss of the Signatech-Nissan team pointed out. “The Alpine A450 has good balance. The drivers find the car easy to drive. They feel confident. The performance has been proven. The weather is a bit frustrating. We will need to fine-tune our program for the next tests. Well done to our drivers who managed these difficult tests perfectly. They were also, each in turn, in the lead of the LMP2 class throughout the day.”

The Signatech-Nissan team will now study the data they gathered during these tests and continue their preparation for the coming Le Mans 24 hours which take place on June 22 and 23, a podium would be just the right reward!